The present invention relates to a vehicle interior panel and a vehicle airbag device.
Airbag devices for passenger seats are installed in automobiles (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1). Such an airbag device includes an upper panel, which forms the upper portion of an instrument panel, and an airbag module that is located inside the upper panel. The upper panel includes a base member and a cover member that is adhered to the outer surface of the base member. The inner surface of the base member includes a tear groove, from which the base member starts to tear when the inflation pressure of the airbag is applied. The airbag module includes an inflator, which generates inflation gas, and an airbag that is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied from the inflator.
The inner surface of the cover member may also include a tear groove at a location corresponding to the tear groove of the base member. When an instrument panel includes such a cover member, the cover member is broken in a suitable manner along the tear groove of the cover member as the inflation pressure of the airbag tears the base member. Since the tear groove is formed in the inner surface of the cover member, the tear groove does not adversely affect the aesthetic appeal of the cover member. Such a tear groove of the cover member is formed by, for example, laser processing.